How do I force and Infopath 2007 form to open in 2007 instead of 2003 on a machine with both versions?

For reasons that are not clear, the InfoPath 2007 form published to a SharePoint library started trying to open in InfoPath 2003 instead of 2007--after weeks of working just fine. Both versions of InfoPath are running on the machines in our office. The error message clearly says "The form template was created with a newer version of InfoPath."

I republshed the form multiple times and made sure they were editable in 2007. I uninstalled InfoPath 2003 but they wouldn't open in 2007 anyway. When we go to the library to create a new form, we conintue to get the same error message.

It seems like something has gottne wired into the form that prompts for InfoPath 2003. Does anyone know how to repair the problem. Republilshing is not working.

Try right-clicking on any InfoPath file > Properties > click "Change" (next to Opens With:) > Select Microsoft InfoPath 2007 > Make sure that "always use the selected program to open this kind of file"

Try right-clicking on any InfoPath file > Properties > click "Change" (next to Opens With:) > Select Microsoft InfoPath 2007 > Make sure that "always use the selected program to open this kind of file" is checked > OK

My best guess on the cause of the problem is a recent Microsoft update Tuesday, August 10. I've not looked to see which specific one . I was able to find references to similar issues with other Office applications besides InfoPath, and these references suggested a sometimes issue with Office updates. Following a suggestion from an Internet posting, I ran Office Diagnostics from InfoPath 2007 on my machine. Problem fixed. Office Diagnostics can be found in the Help tab dropdown in InfoPath 2007.

Before finding the solution, I was thrashing around. There was an InfoPath error message indicating the form was created in a newer version of InfoPath. Republishing did not work. Eventually I focused my investigation on the message below, which popped up when I tried to create a new item in a form library:

The document could not be created.
The required application may not be installed properly, or the template fo rthis document library cannot be opened....(I've attached a file showing the full text of the error).

As for having two versions of Office--the organization as a whole is still using 2003, the IT department is using both 2003 and 2007 at this time. There is somewhat more functionality for workflows with InfoPath 2007, which is why I we've done our workflows with InfoPath 2007.

The first suggestion would be helpful if we were opening the forms from our desktops as opposed to a form library in SharePoint.

Actually when you open an InfoPath form (when you're not use forms services to display the form as a webpage) you are actually opening the application on the end-user's machine. (FYI)
I'm glad you office diagnostics did the trick. Also, if/when you decide to upgrade your end-users to InfoPath 2007 please also install the .net programmability support add-on (when you're running office setup make sure it's selected to install). Otherwise once one of your InfoPath form designers starts getting more complex and using more features end-users that do not have the .net programmability support will get an error and will not be able to open the form.

Thanks for the tip and reminder. As SharePoint Administraotor I'm aware that the behavior of InfoPath and resources SharePoint can support are somewhat diminished in the version we are running now. In fact, I was just looking at a SharePoint 2010 event posting for developers--new tools, SPD, and so on--and wondering if I could persuade the development people who work in our department on a custom database sytem to go with me.

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